October 19, 2010

Senate debate focuses on character

Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk assailed each other’s resumes during a broadcast debate Tuesday that focused relentlessly on who would be the more trustworthy politician to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

Giannoulias hammered at Kirk’s embellishment of his military record and the five-term congressman’s support of the former Bush administration’s tax and spending policies. Kirk accused Giannoulias, the state treasurer, of dodging responsibility for his family’s failed bank and losses in a college savings program overseen by his office.

“The question, congressman, is, why with this record would you not tell the truth? Why would you make all of this stuff up?” Giannoulias asked Kirk, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, during the hourlong debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Illinois and WLS-TV.

“The ultimate irony (is) that (here’s) a man who spends most of his campaign for the Senate criticizing my military record and yet he never served a day in uniform himself,” Kirk said of Giannoulias.Citing loans given by Broadway Bank to convicted felons during Giannoulias’ tenure there, Kirk said, “You should have some apologizing to do, too.”

The intensity of the debate represented the closeness of the race with two weeks to go before the November mid-term electionsBoth candidates acknowledged the negative tone of the contest, but said that jobs and economy, not the name calling, should be a motivating force for voters.

“I think this campaign certainly has been about resume and background, but at heart, when we vote on Nov. 2, it will be about economic philosophy,” Kirk said. Giannoulias said, “This has been a brutal campaign, but it’s brutal out there for a lot of families.”

The debate broke little new ground and both candidates deflected direct questions in an effort to score points against each other.

Giannoulias denied he would be a rubber stamp for President Barack Obama, whose former Senate seat the state treasurer is seeking to fill. “I have said repeatedly, I’m going to vote my conscience,” Giannoulias said. “I’m there to help the people of Illinois, not to be a typical Washington, D.C., party hack.”

Asked what was good about the tea party movement, Kirk applauded the loosely organized group’s support for fiscal conservatism. But pressed further, Kirk used the topic to sell himself to tea party members—who do not view themselves as aligned with a political party—by describing ways in which he viewed himself as independent on some traditional GOP positions.

With Republicans looking to try to wrest control of the House and pick up a sizable number of Senate seats, the highly expensive Illinois race is viewed nationally as a hometown referendum on the presidency.

Already, the two candidates have raised more than $20 million--$12 million for Kirk and $8 million for Giannoulias—and an outside Republican-aligned group co-founded by former George W. Bush White House political guru Karl Rove has spent millions on attack ads against Giannoulias. National Democrats are fighting back with their own ads.

Giannoulias has consistently trailed Kirk by a 4-to-1 ratio in available cash. Prior to the debate, Giannoulias was the beneficiary of a fundraising lunch featuring Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who lost the 2004 presidential campaign to Bush.

Adopting the Democratic White House criticism of GOP groups who have run attack ads but do not have to disclose donors, Kerry contended some of the contributors to the Rove-founded group were the same who contributed to the 2004 attack ads he faced from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. But Kerry was unable to offer any proof.

Kirk said the donors behind third-party advertising should be made public. But he would not support a federal constitutional amendment to reverse a Supreme Court ruling that allowed unlimited and direct corporate and special interest advocacy in campaigns. Giannoulias said he would support the Obama administration’s push to reverse the Supreme Court’s ruling and back a Constitutional amendment if necessary.

The Senate debate between Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk got underway tonight with both men decrying the brutal nature of the attack ads in the race but agreeing that the contest should turn on the fate of the economy.

Giannoulias, the first term state treasurer, said Kirk is one of the Republican architects of bad economic policies in Washington.

“You may not always agree with me but you’ll always know where I stand,” Giannoulias said during the debate on WLS-TV, which is streaming live on the station's Web site.

Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman, said the country’s debt has gotten worse and the American dream needs to be preserved.

“I am the only candidate in this race who will vote to spend less, borrow less, tax less,” Kirk says.

Kirk hits Giannoulias for wanting to raise taxes and said he wants to move the campaign beyond scrutinizing resumes.

Giannoulias argued he’s the more trustworthy candidate. “I’ve always told the truth,” he said, referring to Kirk's admission that he embellished his military record.

Kirk said the controversy over his military record service has been “a painful process” and pointed out again that he apologized for the misstatements. But he compared his military service putting "my life on the line" with Giannoulias not ever being in the service.

Kirk than hit Giannoulias for his family's failed Broadway Bank making loans to "well-known convicted felons" while Giannoulias was a senior loan officer. He also hit Giannoulias for millions of dollars of losses in the Bright Start college investment program the state treasurer oversees.

"That wasn't your fault either," Kirk said.

Giannoulias said he was proud of the work the family bank had done in the community. He said he wishes there were people the bank had not done business with.

Again, Giannoulias finds himself defending his family’s failed Broadway Bank, which in the past had made loans to convicted felons. He says he’s proud of the work the bank had done in the community. He says he wishes there were people the bank had not done business with.

Kirk counters that he made a mistake and corrected. But he says Giannoulias has made a number of mistakes with the bank, mentioning that the bank loaned to alleged mobster. Kirk also hits Giannoulias for losses to a Bright Start college savings fund. Kirk says Giannoulias has not owned up to his mistake.

Giannoulias said Kirk has never fully explained whether or not Kirk was shot at on military duty. “Were you shot at or not,” Giannoulias asked.

Kirk did not directly answer Giannoulias but countered "You were back in the rear with the gear.”

Kirk, who opposed President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, said it has failed and fostered wasteful spending. He said its legacy is a near trillion dollar debt that the nation’s children will have to pay off.

Giannoulias said Kirk helped take the U.S. to record budget deficits. He defended Obama’s stimulus plan, saying without it the country would have plunged into a second great Depression.

The race is a referendum in part on Obama’s leadership. Giannoulias said he won’t be a rubber stamp in Washington, D.C. He said the big priority must be to create jobs. “Congress has forgotten how tough it is out there on Main Street,” he says.

Giannoulias said he would have voted against a pork-laden spending bill and said that he will promote green energy, tax cuts, and increasing access to capital to help spur economic recovery.

Kirk repeated his campaign theme that the country needs to spend less, borrow less and tax less. He said “anyway we can reduce spending will help out the economy” and the long-term success of the country.

As they have previously, the candidates also disagreed on the issue of immigration and the proposed federal Dream Act, which would grant conditional legal status to people who came to the country illegally as children if they attend college or join the U.S. military.

Giannoulias said he favors the Dream Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform. “People want leaders,” Giannoulias said. He said Kirk has waffled on where he stands on the act.

Kirk said first the country’s border must be secure and legal immigrants who "played by the rules" should be rewarded first. Kirk said now is not the time to vote for the Dream Act. “Border control first, then later on the rest,” he said.

Kirk was asked about his “voter integrity” effort to have poll watchers out on Election Day and whether it was an effort to target African-American voters. He said he was not targeting majority black communities and argued that poll watching was crucial in a state with a history of corruption.

Giannoulias said Kirk was aiming to suppress black votes by targeting Rockford and well as Chicago’s South and West Sides.

“I’m just asking you where’s the voter fraud,” Giannoulias said.

On budget issues, Kirk called for across the board spending cuts in federal government. Kirk said that among his ideas are eliminating earmarks and support a line-item veto for the president to bring spending under control.

Giannoulias said he would let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire at the end of the year.

On corruption, Kirk said he favors eliminating pensions for lawmakers who commit felonies. He said there needs to be more transparency in campaign financing, saying all candidates should disclose contributions on the Internet within 24 hours.

Giannoulias criticized a group co-founded by Bush White House adviser Karl Rove for producing attack ads against him.

Kirk said all political groups that support him and those who support Giannoulias should reveal the identity of their donors. Kirk also pointed out that Giannoulias, who has said he won’t take money from federal lobbyists, does take money from union political action committees and state lobbyists.

Giannoulias continued to attack Rove’s ads against him, and said Kirk is a prolific special interest fundraiser who is “owned by the health insurance companies.”

The two differed on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays.

Giannoulias said he favors repealing the policy. But Kirk noted he voted to continue the policy. He said that first lawmakers should get the input from the military leaders.

Giannoulias said he supports gay marriage. If “my fiance and I can have certain rights” then that should be available for everyone, he said.

Kirk said he opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions.

In closing statements, Giannoulias said there is a “stark difference” between him and Kirk. He told the story of an unemployed mother from Kirk’s district who has been unable to find a job, and is scared for the future. Giannoulias said she wants to know who is fighting for her. He said her fight was his fight, and her anger was his anger.

Kirk said a new round of tax and spend bills are on the horizon, and picking the next senator is incredibly important. “I seek to be that fiscally conservative, social moderate voice,” he said.

Posted by Jeff Coen at 1:44 p.m.

As Republican Mark Kirk prepared for a debate tonight in the close U.S. Senate race, Democratic Alexi Giannoulias was welcoming another national political figure to Chicago.

Giannoulias was to attend a private fundraising lunch with Kerry later before preparing for the debate, which airs on Channel 7 from 10:35 p.m. to 11:35 p.m. tonight. The debate—moderated by George Stephanopoulos—airs live at 7 p.m. on ABC’s 7.2 channel.

This is the second of three televised debates between Giannoulias, the state’s treasurer, and Kirk, a five-term congressman from the North Shore, but the first in Illinois. The two are locked in a near dead heat heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

In his appearance, Kerry became the latest Democrat to criticize attack ads targeting Giannoulias by a group co-funded by George W. Bush political adviser Karl Rove. Rove and others have helped launch American Crossroads and its nonprofit affiliate, Crossroads GPS, which does not have to disclose donors.

Kerry compared what American Crossroads is doing to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attack ads against him when he ran for president in 2004. He offered no evidence to back up his suggestion that same of the same donors were involved in both groups.

Kerry criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s January decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission that made it easier for unions and corporations to spend directly on political causes. New groups formed supporting Democrats and Republicans but the dramatic growth has been on the Republican side.

“I just think the secret funding of these campaigns that we're witnessing today is disgraceful, it's anti-Democratic, it robs the American people of the accountability and transparency that our democracy ought to have," Kerry said.

Giannoulias is out of his league and demonstrated exactly that in this evening's debate. As was true in the primary, he used Obama's lines from 2008, and tonite he again used Obama's style by using, yes using, an unemployed mother story. Has he no original thought processes? Both candidates often would not direct questions, but Giannoulias went to a well rehearsed script to make his talking points, possibly because of a poor grasp of many issues. This democrat cannot and will not in good conscience vote for Giannoulias. Sorry it isn't Hoffman against Kirk.

i really wish the media here would be facilitators for DEMOCRACY and have the other candidates who are on the BALLOT participate. We get enough of these two through their commercials. They will most certainly re-hash what we see every commercial break.

If they added the 3rd party candidates, people might actually CONSIDER them, rather than being written off.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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